Glass Dreams
by Aeralyse
Summary: Winry has never told Ed to his face how she feels about him. She gets the chance to talk with him in a horribly realistic dream. Postmovie. EdxWin fluff. Rated T for mild language, just in case. Oneshot.


A/N: Hello! This is an older EdxWin oneshot I wrote a while ago and happened to dig up again... It was written to cheer myself up after watching CoS. Thought I'd post it. Incidentally, it was the first one I wrote, so please go easy!

Disclaimer: I don't own FMA.

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Glass Dreams 

Winry Rockbell flopped onto her bed wearily, not bothering to turn on a light. She had been exerting all of her energy into her automail, like she always had, but more so as of late. It didn't help that she hadn't been able to sleep well for the past couple of weeks- the good, peaceful, deep sleeps. Lately, she would lie there restlessly, tossing onto her side, then onto her stomach, then onto her back with a huff. She would finally drift off into a sort of state of sleep, where she would suddenly find her eyes wide open, like she'd never been asleep at all. The cause of her involuntary insomnia was simple: she just couldn't sleep.

Winry flipped onto her stomach, finally deciding to turn on her light. Her clock read 1:37 AM. Had she really been up so late working? She turned onto her back, staring blankly up at the very plain ceiling. Sitting up, she peered out the window. It was night, pitch black, with only a few twinkling stars out. Even the moon did not make its usual appearance. Her eye caught a small picture framed in wood and metal. She allowed herself a small smile. She moved to pick it up. It was Ed and Al Elric and Winry, one grimacing, the other looking pleasantly into the camera, and a giggling third one clasping a small doll, in that order. It was an old picture, one taken many years ago, when they were little. She could even remember that Tricia had taken that picture. Winry had stolen from their house not long after it was taken, because she thought Ed looked so endearing with that disgusted face.

She gently traced her finger over the two little boys. Winry sat back. She had another picture of them somewhere. She pulled open the nightstand drawer beside her and rummaged through it, tossing items out, not caring where they landed. And at the very bottom of the dusty drawer was a picture, taken maybe five years ago, before Al had gotten his body back and was still in that armor. The picture wasn't terribly faded from overexposure to sunlight, so it maintained most of its color, allowing Winry to vividly recall the days that seemed so long ago. In the picture, Al was sitting next to Winry, and Ed was glaring at her with a vengeance. Probably something about his height and those wrenches. But it wasn't like Ed was not small anymore; the last time she saw him, he was at least her height. Things were so different now. They didn't "seem", they "were". A small, almost inaudible sound escaped Winry's mouth. It could have been a whisper of a sigh.

_Edward_…

She remembered the last time she ever saw him, when she gave him his automail arm and leg in exchange for those pitiful metal things he wore for limbs. After she screwed in his last screw, he hopped up and was about to run off and go do his whole big-hero routine. She never got around to telling him how she felt about him, that he was her best friend, confidante (at least, he was when they were younger), but he so much more than that just that. Winry always promised herself she would get around to telling him, but she never did. She regretted it never telling him with words. But her heart still held onto one hope. Before Ed ran off on his automail leg and arm, she could remember saying his name. He looked back at her for an instant, his eyes probing the worry written on her face. There was a certain understanding in his eyes, like he knew the unspoken words on Winry's heart. There was a stillness on his face as he nodded to her. She could remember nodding back, eyes closing for a brief second, peace in her heart that he knew what she had never spoken out loud. And the girl mechanic knew in the split second of the unspoken exchange that Ed, in his own unique way, felt the same way she felt about him. It was their moment. And then just like that, it was gone. Winry could have followed him, going wherever he did, had she really wanted. But something held her back. She felt that her place was here. And here was where she stayed. She marveled at how two can start along the same path, going towards the same destination. And then take different roads to get there. But roads will someday cross each other again, right? Winry flipped her hair, biting her lip. How long had it been since they'd left, anyway? Almost three years? Winry shook her head, wondering how she even started thinking about Ed in the first place. She looked at the picture tenderly.  
"Who knows?" she whispered, "Only time."

She knew that Ed knew what she felt about him, there was no misunderstanding there. No one, not even Ed, could make a mistake like that. Then a feeling Winry could not name suddenly overwhelmed her, and she kissed the picture. With a sigh, she replaced the picture in the drawer and shut it tightly.

'_Forget it_,' she told herself, '_it's not going to happen. You know they're not coming back. It's only a fool's hope. So stop thinking about it because it will only make it worse_.' She considered hitting herself on the head with her ever-present wrench that lay nearby on the nightstand. She never really got to hit people on the head with wrenches anymore. Because that was an Edward thing. In a strange, almost perverted way, she felt good when she saw Ed rubbing his head afterwards.

'_You know what, Winry?_' the girl told herself, '_You're just an idiot for continuing to think about this. And since when do you think about Ed so much_? _You sound like a pathetic, lovesick girl, which you're most definitely not_!'

She leaned back, her eyes closed. Before long, she had dropped into sleep. Slowly, a dream began to emerge. She was in a strange room. Ed was there, sitting at the desk opposite his bed with his head down. And Al was here too, lying down on the bed, snoring lightly. Despite herself, Winry smiled. Conscious to the fact that she sometimes was immobile in dreams, Winry tested her feet, willing them over to where Al was sleeping. She could walk; she could feel the cold, hard wood beneath her small feet. She reached out and gently smoothed back his hair from his face. He moved in his sleep, towards Winry's hand.

"I miss you too, little brother," she said, surprised that she could actually speak in this dream, "You're growing to be a handsome boy."

Winry felt a surge of sisterly love for gentle little Al flow through her. She leaned down and gave him a lingering kiss on his forehead.

She reluctantly turned away from Al, wanting to take the most of this unusual dream as she could before being jolted awake. She turned to where Ed had been slumped across the desk only the moment before, but when she turned to see him, he was on his feet, his golden eyes wide as they stared into her blue ones. She watched as Ed took a tentative step in her direction.

"W-Winry?" he asked, eyes squinting in her direction, like he was unfamiliar with her face.

Winry nodded. She could feel tears come to her eyes, but she blinked them back. She moved towards Ed. She reached out her fingers to his, which still covered in white gloves. His fingers were cold. They clasped hands, staring at each other. Winry tried to say something, but her heart was in her throat. Then Winry pulled herself to Ed, hugging him as if he would disappear from her at any moment. He felt warm and real. And he hugged back, somewhat awkwardly, but he did.

"I miss you, Ed," Winry managed to say, "so much."

And Edward answered back. He still sounded the same, "I miss you too, Win."

Winry was almost positive this was all a cruel dream her mind was playing on her, allowing her to think for a fraction of a second that Edward Elric was standing right in front of her.

But right now, Ed was _here_, where Winry was. She was talking to him. She hadn't done that in so long. She had wanted it so much, and now, the chance to see and touch Ed was here. She took that opportunity, and Winry let herself believe it was real. Even if it was for a moment.

"Wrenched at all?" She had to ask to satisfy her curiosity.

Ed sighed. He didn't look at her, his answer barely audible. "I miss it, you old mechanic."

"Well, I miss hitting you, alchemy freak."

"Alchemy doesn't work here in this world."

Winry was surprised

"Oh," was all she could get out.

"But you miss it, Ed."

"Hell yeah, but- that makes me normal, which means you're the only freak now."

She chose to ignore the last part of his comment.

"Drink your milk?" She asked, just for kicks.

"Nope. I'm fine without it."

"Granny would say you're still a shrimp."

She smiled inwardly as a disgusted look came across Ed's face. She saw him take in a deep breath, his lungs filling with air, ready to scream to the world for the umpteenth time that he most definitely was NOT a shrimp, nor was he so small you needed a magnifying glass to see him.

"Granny died last year."

Ed's brows arched.

"I'm sorry, Winry."

Winry looked into his eyes, surprised he didn't say something about the old hag finally wearing down.

He grinned, "Too bad I didn't get to see her before she passed. I would have liked to see her and just tell her that I'm taller than her granddaughter."

Winry rolled her eyes, changing the subject, "So, uh… How's your automail holding up?"

"Eh… nothing beats the Rockbell job."

"You mean… you've had other people work on MY automail?!"

Winry felt horribly insulted. Her automail; her precious masterpieces! Ed had never before let anyone else with oil-stained bandanas come remotely close to his automail. But now…

Her thoughts were broken into by Ed's worried voice.

"No, no! I didn't mean it like that, Winry. Don't worry, I've, ah- taken care of it."

"You better have! You don't know how hard I worked on those. Just let me see them."

Glaring at him, she yanked off the right hand glove. He didn't protest. She gestured at him to pull of his shirt, which he did. Winry couldn't help but notice how toned his upper body was.

Blushing in the slightest manner, she looked down and examined his arm, running her hands over the cold automail as she looked closely. She was silent as she rolled up the pant leg that covered his automail leg and inspected it warily, looking for any sign that they had been tinkered with. There was none, just the lines of oil that had formed at the places where the metal plates met each other.

"They aren't in as good a shape as when I gave them to you," she finally sighed, "Then again, that's always the risk I take for yours."

"But you did okay," she said gently, caressing his automail fingers, silently letting him know she appreciated that he had continued to oil them and keep them in any shape at all.

He looked down at her hands on his and turned a little red. She looked up at him, tingeing a light pink color, and quickly pulled her hands away. She sighed as she watched him pull his shirt back on.

"Thanks," he said softly.

Winry sighed loudly, "Oh, Edward. You shouldn't have left anyway."

It felt good to finally say that to Ed and get it off her chest, even if it was just a dream.

"Come on, I had to. You know that."

Ed sounded slightly uncomfortable.

"You didn't have to. Couldn't you have just shut it from this side? You said that other place can't do alchemy!" Winry's voice rose.

"I didn't think," was Ed's weak excuse.

"I should hit you, Edward Elric."

She reached for her wrench only to find it wasn't there. So she slammed her fist onto the top of his skull, as a poor substitute for a wrench.

"Dammit, Winry!! Why do you always have to do that?"

He rubbed his head and scowled at her, looking miffed. Winry suppressed a grin. Good old Ed.

"Because you don't think. I've always hoped I could knock some sense into you."

Ed frowned again, causing Winry to smile.

"Don't worry, Ed. I was never mad at you for leaving. We all have responsibilities. You were just doing yours."

He sighed, "Yeah. I guess."

"Hey, Ed… could you... take one of my earrings..."

It was a strange request, and without knowing how she got there, Winry found she was pressing a silver earring, incidentally her favorite, into Ed's gloved hand, his left one.

"Why?"

He just had to ask about even the simplest favors. He hadn't changed.

"I don't know. Just take it."

Ed peeked at it, and put it in his pocket so not to lose it. Then he flashed Winry his trademark grin, something she hadn't seen in years, and her heart jumped. He shoved something soft into her hand. Winry looked at it and frowned at him.

"I can't take this, Ed; your-"

"I've got more."

Winry just shrugged and tucked it in her back pocket.

"You know," Edward remarked casually, "Working on machines reminds me of you."

Winry stole a peek at him. He sounded normal, but his face was tinted a curious shade of red. She smiled at his embarassment. He looked kind of cute like that.

"Can you grab my arm?" she asked suddenly.

"Why?" Ed was puzzled.

"I want a bruise."

"No! I can't do that. You're insane."

"Just do it!!" Winry raised her fist over his head. It wasn't as menacing as a wrench, but she could pack a serious punch.

"I don't think that's a good id-" Ed was interrupted by hard knuckles connecting with his skull.

"Ow!" Ed rubbed his head, shot a glare at Winry. She smiled and held out her right arm.

"You're crazy," Ed grumbled. He gingerly took her wrist and gave it a light squeeze.

"Harder!" Winry encouraged, "I can take a lot. I actually drank _my_ milk."

"Who are you calling so short he can't get any taller than a damn bean?!" It had always been more of a statement than a question, no matter how it was phrased, and this instance was no difference. And Ed squeezed her arm harder this time.

"Ouch!" Winry pulled away and rubbed her wrist. Then she did the most unexpected thing. She smiled, "Thank you. I think it'll bruise for sure."

She received nothing but a puzzled look from Ed.

"I want a bruise from you. Just for old times' sake."

Silence. Ed looked like he was trying to say something.

"Ed? Are you okay?" she asked carefully.

"Winry… now's probably not the best time. But…" Ed drifted off. He looked embarrassed and scratched the back of his neck self-consciously. Then he sped through his next sentence so quickly, Winry barely caught the gist of it, "Winry-I-love-you."

She was silent for a moment, feeling bittersweet that it was only a dream. Edward was beginning to fidget. He looked nervous, "But you know, it's just-"

"I love you too, Ed." Winry cut him off, hiding her face in Ed's shirt. She was beginning to get a spinning feeling which was making her feel nauseous. Her dream was about to end, she could feel it. She gripped Ed tightly, trying to keep her balance. Ed looked troubled too. His infamous frown crossed his face. Then Winry hurled herself against him, smashing her lips into his. It wasn't how she had ever imagined her first kiss, not that it was really one. She kissed him tenderly and he kissed back, like he'd been expecting it all along. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and to her delight, she could feel his arms, one automail and one human flesh, wrap around her waist. The kiss was a chaste one and all too soon, they pulled apart. They leaned their foreheads together, eyes closed.

The light was beginning to fade. Winry could tell her dream was almost expired by now.

"Winry," came Edward's fading whisper, "Watch for me."

"Don't worry, Ed. I have always watched for you. That'll never change."

Winry could feel all her senses registering at once, a very uncomfortable feeling. It was almost as if she had been recovering from being knocked out or something. But she was waking up. A rushing sense hit her. Darn it. She had fallen asleep again, hadn't she? Winry rubbed her forehead. She had had the dream again, only it was different this time. Ed and Al… so genuine that it almost felt as if she had really been wherever Ed and Al had gone off to. She sat up and, out of habit, fiddled with her earrings. _One of them was gone_. Winry gasped. It couldn't have been real- could it? No. Logically, it was near impossible. It didn't make sense. But… she could have taken it out in her sleep. She was sometimes known to sleepwalk. Maybe it had fallen somewhere in the sheets, just buried deep under the sheets, waiting for her to find it as it looked smugly at her. Maybe it was all a mean trick someone was playing, just to see her get all hopeful about Edward Elric- and Alfonse, too, of course- and then realize it was a mean spirited prank. Frustrated, Winry yanked all her blankets off her bed in search of that earring. Instead, something fell out of the blankets and fluttered onto the wooden floor. Winry cocked her head, confused. Whatever was that? The frame with the picture of when the Elrics and Winry were young? No, that was too heavy, and it was still where she had left it last night. Winry knelt down, peering on the floor for that mysterious object. Pushing away the extra nuts and bolts she'd left lying around on the floor the night before, she picked up a strange-looking object. She peered closely at it and started. In an instant, she clasped it to her chest, and tears began to flow. So it wasn't a mean person playing a trick; it was genuine, real. There was no logical explanation as to how this little object found its way into Winry's bed. It was real. And hope flooded into Winry's heart, despite herself. She was holding it as if her life depended on it. In her hands was Edward's right hand glove. She stretched out her own right hand to put it on… and circling her right wrist, just like a bracelet, was a very purple and blue bruise. She gasped and cradled her hand. Only one word, one name, was on her lips.

_Edward…_

"Ed… I know you always keep your promises. Our paths will join together again someday, somewhere. Somehow."

It didn't matter how long it took Ed to find his way back. It didn't matter that Ed would never drink his milk; he was probably done growing anyway by now. It didn't matter that his automail would be messed up if he didn't take care of it properly, but she knew he would pay special attention to taking care of it… just for her.

Only one thing really mattered to Winry.

Edward Elric and Winry Rockbell loved each other.

That was all that mattered to Winry.

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A/N: So I know some of it didn't flow too well and that some of the details are wrong, but just ignore the continuity errors, please. And I know they seem sort of OOC. I'm sorry about that. Maybe if I find time, I'll get around to editing it or something. R&R please! No flames, please. Thanks. 


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